Chapter 339 Prince Rong's Acting
"My lady! My lady! Xiang'er! My Xiang'er! Where are you?!" Prince Rong cried and rushed into the ruins to search.
The steward hurriedly followed, trying to pull Prince Rong out, saying, "Your Highness, it's too dangerous here, please come out first."
"No, I can't. My wife and my daughter are still inside." Prince Rong reached out to pry open the blackened charcoal.
Although the fire has been extinguished, the house is still crumbling and looks like it's about to collapse.
Left with no other option, the steward shouted, "Your Highness, the Madam and Miss have probably already been burned to ashes. You'd better come out quickly."
With red eyes, Prince Rong cried hysterically, "No, it's impossible! They were all fine when I left yesterday, how could they have been burned to ashes?"
"Your Highness, please calm down." After saying this, the steward quickly winked at the guards around him.
The guards rushed forward and led Prince Rong out of the ruins.
Prince Rong's face was streaked with tears, and his whole body was trembling. He really looked like someone who had just lost his wife and children.
Actually, it was just acting.
His acting was even better than the opera singer on the stage; his eyes were red from crying, and he swayed as if he might faint at any moment.
Not long after, General An, the father of the King and Princess Rong, arrived.
When General An heard that his daughter and granddaughter had perished in the fire, he aged more than ten years in an instant. His hair turned completely white, and he stooped over, his body trembling, as he approached the ruins.
The last one lost his balance and fell to the ground.
"General!"
The crowd quickly gathered around and helped General An up.
Prince Rong also feigned concern by supporting General An, saying in a hoarse voice, "Father-in-law, it's my fault. I didn't take good care of them."
General An's eyes were bloodshot as he looked at the ruins and spoke, as if he hadn't heard Prince Rong's voice.
"Father-in-law!"
Prince Rong called out again.
The king stood to the side, watching with a frown.
Originally, it was thought that General An could also control Prince Rong, but now that Princess Rong is dead, General An has nothing else to control Prince Rong.
His face gradually filled with disappointment.
Just then, he seemed to see the shadow of his son in the crowd around him.
"Xun'er?"
However, when he looked again, there was nothing there.
The king slowly regained his senses and said to Prince Rong and General An, "Please accept my condolences. The most important thing now is to find out how the fire started."
Prince Rong's expression darkened slightly.
General An asked in confusion, "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"
The king slowly said, "It is not winter now, nor is it the season when water can be used for navigation. How could such a large fire suddenly break out in the Rong Prince's Mansion? I think it must have been arson by someone."
General An was startled and suddenly turned to look at the ruins.
He suddenly seemed to remember something, strode over, and found a tinderbox in a pile of rubble.
The tinderbox was pinned down by a stone.
General An cleared away the stones and picked up the tinder. "Your Majesty," he said, "look, this tinder was just covered by the stones and didn't get burned."
The old king strode over, looked at the tinderbox in his hand, then frowned, raised his eyes and asked Prince Rong in a cold voice, "Your Majesty, this tinderbox seems to belong to your palace."
Prince Rong strode over and looked at the tinderbox in General An's hand. It bore the mark of the Prince Rong's residence, confirming that it was indeed an item from the Prince Rong's residence.
He was horrified, his face filled with disbelief.
The person he sent to set the fire yesterday was one of his trusted confidants, who had always been very careful and cautious in their actions. It was impossible for him to have left such an important item here.
Indeed, the arsonist wouldn't be so careless as to leave the tinderbox from the Rong Prince's residence here.
Before setting off last night, he made a point of finding a few unmarked tinderboxes to carry with him.
But as soon as he stepped out, he was caught in a downpour on the road. The rain came and went quickly, soaking his tinderbox.
Left with no other choice, he had to go back into the house to get another one. Due to the time constraints, he could only grab a tinderbox with the Rong Prince's Mansion logo.
I had planned to light the fire and then take the tinder away safely, but unfortunately I ran into two stray cats.
The wildcat pounced and knocked the tinder from his hand, which rolled into the rocks.
The old king pointed at the tinderbox and questioned Prince Rong, "Brother, what do you have to say about this?"
Prince Rong hurriedly said, "I never expected it was done by someone from my own household. I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly and avenge my wife and daughter!"
General An frowned slightly, sensing something amiss, and said coldly, "Prince Rong, aren't all the people in your household under your control? How come someone is disobeying you and committing such a rebellious act?"
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